I recently took the plunge and purchased a Dell Mini 10 "netbook" computer. I've been wanting something very portable that I could have around the house that gave me the ability to surf the internet at a moments notice. This role had previously been filled by my iPod Touch. The iPod works fine for monitoring feeds via the mobile version of Google Reader and checking Gmail as well. But it's not so good for writing blog  posts or doing online shopping. Multi-tasking is also limited on the iPod since you can run more than one app at a time. Hence the desire to get another device.

I chose the Dell Mini 10 with the Ubuntu option instead of Windows XP because I wanted to save money and avoid a bloated, slow Windows install on a machine without much horsepower. You also save a few bucks by going the Linux route as well. I was a bit skeptical about the Linux experience but so far I've found Ubuntu very comparable to Windows in features.

The Dell Mini 10 has a version of Linux that is a bit out of date. That doesn't seem to matter much as the system worked nicely out of the box and came preloaded with all sorts of useful software including Firefox, the Open Office suite, games and educational applications. There is also an email application called Evolution, a chat client called Pidgin and webcam software. So even though you're dealing with a free operating system you really do get a lot of excellent software.

The Mini 10 also launches directly into a special interface known as the "netbook remix". The netbook remix features larger icons and a colorful, user friendly interface that improves usability on such a small screen. I'm one of those impatient types who likes to have the latest version of software so I decided to upgrade my machine to Ubuntu 9.04 aka Jaunty Jackalope. Unfortunately the netbook remix for 9.04 performs very poorly on the Dell Mini 10. So I had to switch (luckily you can do that) to the standard gnome desktop, which doesn't look as cool but works just fine. When the performance issues with the remix get worked out I'll probably switch back to that interface. I've embedded a video below to show you how that looks.

My experience with the Dell Mini with Ubuntu is very limited but I have developed a few solid opinions about it already.

Pros

• Affordable price
• Portability
• Long battery life (with the 6 cell battery)
• Huge 160GB hard drive
• Fast start and shutdown
• Plenty of good applications

Cons

• Limited power
• Small keyboard
• Frustrating touchpad
• Poor video playback

I definitely wouldn't recommend this machine for anyone wanting a stellar media experience. The limited power leads to a host of other issues. You really shouldn't run more than a few applications at once. CPU intensive tasks such as audio or video editing, even video playback present a challenge. YouTube videos stutter a bit especially at HD quality. The Dell Mini has plenty of hard drive space but there's only 1GB of RAM and it is not upgradeable. A second gigabyte of RAM should be standard even on netbooks and would probably improve performance.

I expected to make some performance trade-offs with the small size of the Mini but the touchpad issue is inexcusable. The Dell touchpad has the left and right click integrated into the bottom corners of the pad which makes clicking a little difficult. The pad is also easy to hit by accident and as a result sometimes the slightest touch with your thumb causes the screen to go wacky. There has got to be a better way to integrate the touchpad without the annoying usability issues.

So far I would characterize the experience as generally positive. You have to consider the cost of the machine, right about $400, and also the convenience of a system that you can carry just about anywhere. There's still a lot I haven't tried to do so I plan on posting additional thoughts in the near future. The biggest warning that I would give is to folks who think that they can replace a laptop meant for media production and other CPU intensive tasks with a Dell Mini. For now, a smaller Inspiron notebook with a better processor and at least 2GB of RAM would be a better choice.